Pendulum of Souls
by 4647SharkDragon
Summary: While "advertising" for the new You Show Duel School, Yuzu encounters a very eccentric and energetic boy who apparently loves Entertainment Duels.


**Uh, this is just a random idea that popped into my head, about how Yuya and Yuzu met. It's full of a bunch of stuff that will probably be proven totally wrong by canon, if it hasn't been already. Also, the title is a terrible reference to one of the lyrics in BelievexBelieve. Although the story is told from Yuzu's perspective, Yuya is really the one it focuses on. I really like the idea of a Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonist who acts super optimistic to cover up his insecurities. I should stop rambling.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from Yu-Gi-Oh Arc-V! **

**Other disclaimer: This is my first attempt at writing a fanfic, so I apologize if reading it causes your eyes to bleed from the terribleness. **

As she stood in the courtyard of her school, the sun beating down on her head, the 11-year old Yuzu Hiragi sighed.

"Come to You Show Duel School," she muttered lazily, half-heartedly swinging the sign in her hands around as other children bustled around her, eager to get out of school. It was a beautiful day outside, the sky devoid of clouds and a gentle breeze blowing through Miami City. Any sane student would be hanging out with their friends. Instead, she was waving a terrible sign around, advocating on behalf of a terrible idea.

She wasn't exactly sure what had possessed her father to devise the plan. Oh, sure, he had wanted to be a pro duelist when he was a kid, but from what Yuzu understood, he had gotten over that by the time he entered High School. So, why exactly did he randomly decide, at age 38, to open up a Duel School in the middle of a city already full of them? She hadn't the faintest clue.

She saw absolutely no point in it. She was a perfectly normal teenager, so of course she enjoyed dueling just like nearly everyone else, but running a Duel School seemed completely idiotic. Not only did her father not have any experience in the field, but their school didn't have much to offer, especially compared to the more glamorous alternatives, like that famous Leo Duel School. How could they expect to compete with any of the other Duel Schools?

Oh, that's right. By having your daughter spend her weekday afternoons standing outside of school, trying to convince people to attend. Genius. Weren't parents supposed to encourage their children to spend that time doing homework? She pulled out a paper fan and began waving it in an attempt to cool herself down.

"What a waste of my time..." she whispered bitterly. She found this irritatingly wasteful; there was absolutely nothing she would gain by helping in this stupid project. There were tons of other afterschool activities she could participate in. But her father thought it would be fun, which _obviously_ meant that she found it fun too, so she was stuck with this idiotic job. Worse, if any innocent souls were actually ensnared into joining the school, she might have to help out with "the curriculum." She could imagine the horror of spending every night discussing the logistics of Action Cards and the wonders of Tribute Summoning. How could anyone find such a prospect exciting? What joy could you possibly derive from something so dull?

"Hey, whatcha doing?"

Her inner monologue was abruptly cut short by the energetic voice of a prepubescent boy standing in front of her.

"Wha-?" The student before her had bright red eyes, a pair of goggles, and a spiky mass of hair that was..._red and green_? Okay then. He was dressed in a red and white hoodie, and an odd blue pendant hung around his neck. He also was kind of short; she might have actually been taller than him. She vaguely recognized him as someone else in her grade, but as far as she could recall they had never actually talked to each other. Until now. Ugh.

"_You-Show Duel School_," the boy squinted as he read the sign she was holding. His eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Whoa, there's a new Duel School?"

"Yeah..." Yuzu said unenthusiastically. "My father is opening it, and he wanted me to..._invite _people to come down and check it out."

"That's super cool!" the boy threw his arms up in excitement before letting them drop to his sides. "...Wait, then where is everyone?" Yuzu glared at him. Was he just dense?

"No one has expressed any interest," she hissed. "Leo Duel School basically dominates the competition, and trying to open a Duel School at this time is a pretty dumb move anyway."

"As long as you have some fun stuff to offer, who cares?" the boy laughed. Yuzu stared at him. Something about that smile seemed very... _familiar. _Like she had seen it somewhere else.

"So...who are you, exactly?"

"Oh!" the boy slapped his forehead in embarrassment. "Can't believe I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Yuya. Yuya Sakaki." Yuzu's eyes widened. _Sakaki_! That was his last name. Of course; he was the son of Yusho Sakaki, the famous Entertainment Duelist! She opened her mouth before suddenly clamping down. _Wait a minute..._ she paused. There was another reason she remembered the name. As she wracked her brain for the answer, she suddenly gasped. That's right, Mr. Sakaki had caused quite a stir a few months ago, when he had failed to show up in his duel against Strong Ishijima, another pro. She frowned. It would probably be best to steer clear of that sort of subject.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Yuya's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, nothing!" Yuzu said hastily. Yuya gave her a quizzical look, before brushing it off.

"Well, are you done here?" he gestured to the schoolyard, causing Yuzu to bite her lip in annoyance.

"No, my dad will probably be annoyed if I don't bring anyone. Though it's not like we should expect anyone to come..." Yuya looked at her with a strange mix of impatience and disappointment.

"Stop acting so down! You need to get hyped! Put some energy into this, and some energy will swing back in return!"

"Swing back?" Yuzu murmured in confusion.

"Yeah, it's a metaphor. Pendulums swing back and forth, back and forth..." Yuya said it as if was the most obvious thing in the world.

"That makes like, no sense in the context of this conversation," Yuzu deadpanned. Yuya flashed her a look of exasperation.

"Jeez, you're not fun. Let's just go!" He started walking out of the school gate.

"Go? Go where?" Yuzu called from behind him. The boy turned around and stuck his tongue at her.

"To Mu-Shu Duel School, duh!" Yuya pulled a duel disk out of his backpack and waved it back and forth. "Obviously, no one else is coming today, so we may as well get started."

"Wha-you're coming?" Yuzu gasped in confusion. They had talked for maybe five minutes and he wanted to attend the school that she had _clearly_ been implying was terrible. But Yuya just smiled obliviously.

"Of course I'm coming! You guys have Solid Vision, that's all you need for an Action Duel. And it'd be sad for you to have to go all by yourself." He shot her a wide grin, causing Yuzu to blush for a reason she did not entirely understand.

"Oh...I appreciate that," she smiled weakly in return.

"Alright!" Yuya made a fist pump. "Let's go!" he cried as he ran down the sidewalk. Yuzu watched the energetic boy's back as he sprinted down the street. _What a weird kid_ she thought. Suddenly, something dawned on her.

"Yuya, the school is the other way!"

-Line-Break-Thingy-

"This is so cool!" Yuya gazed in wonderment at the studio. It was a rather simple design, with tall pale walls with green stripes running along them. The only remotely interesting sight was the Solid Vision projector at the top of the room.

"It's nothing special," Yuzu scoffed as she flicked the lights on. So her father wasn't home yet, meaning she had to do this idiotic chore by herself. "I'm sure you've seen lots of stadiums, being the son of-" she stopped herself, but luckily Yuya seemed too absorbed in the scenery to realize what she had been about to say.

"You're totally underrating it. You guys have premium Solid Vision tech, isn't that enough?" Yuya began rummaging around in his backpack for his duel disk.

"I'm sure the other Duel Schools have even better technology," Yuzu said bitterly. "And they probably have more to offer, while we just have this one room."

"Yeah, yeah," Yuya said absentmindedly as he pulled his deck out of its deck box. "C'mon, let's just get to the part where we mess around with the Solid Vision!" he whined impatiently.

"Calm down!" Yuzu snapped, before considering what he said. There wasn't actually much else they could do in the current situation, she realized. Even if they waited for her father to come home, there still wasn't much they could use the building for apart from dueling. _Some school this is_ she huffed. "Okay, fine, I'll turn it on."

"Sweet!" Yuya cheered. Rolling her eyes, Yuzu stepped outside the studio and went over to the computers and panels that controlled the Solid Vision. As she turned on the screen, she could practically hear Yuya squealing inside.

"Let's just go with something nice and simple," Yuzu said as she used the keyboard to select the "Plain Plane" card on the screen. She grabbed a small remote that would allow her to control the Solid Vision within the room before quickly running back inside. There was a low whirring noise as the projector above them came to life. The empty room was quickly replaced by an expansive grassy landscape, peppered by small trees. To their left was a raised stone platform surrounded by a small moat, from which a pair of rivers extended on either side. The sky shone a wonderful shade of blue above them. Yuzu allowed a reluctant smile to grace her lips. Whatever her feelings on the school were, she had to admit that the Solid Vision technology her father had bought was impressive.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Her pondering was halted by the obnoxious voice of her companion. "Let's get this started!" Yuya grinned excitedly as he activated his duel disk, causing the section for cards to materialize.

"We're the only ones here," Yuzu rolled her eyes at the boy's ridiculous enthusiasm. "And I don't have my deck right now." Truth be told, her deck was simply in her backpack, but she _really_ didn't feel like dueling this weirdo.

"Whatever! Let's just have some fun!" Yuya sifted through his deck for a card before overdramatically slamming it onto his duel disk. "I summon Entermate Discover Hippo!" With a shimmer of light, a new being appeared next to Yuya. And it...was certainly an interesting sight.

Standing next to Yuya was a hippo. A _pink_ hippo. A pink hippo whose face was covered in tattoos and whose body was dressed in a magenta tuxedo and bow tie. The hippo hopped on its hind legs as a blue top hat materialized in its paw, which it promptly placed on its head. The monster let out a happy snort and struck a flamboyant pose that Yuya quickly mirrored.

"What the-? What kind of monster is that?" Yuzu would not have expected anyone to use such an embarrassing looking card. Yuya looked at her in confusion.

"I just told you, it's Entermate Discover Hippo," he rubbed the monster on its nose, causing it to smile widely. "I usually use him for my opening act, if I can."

"...Opening act...?"

"Yeah. Here, I'll show you!" Yuya grinned as Entermate Discover Hippo got down on all four of its legs, allowing Yuya to jump on its back. "Let's see if I can make you smile!" With an energetic cry, the pink hippo sprung forward and began hopping around the field. It was unlike anything Yuzu had ever seen before...and not in a good way. "Ready?" Yuya called to his monster, who snorted excitedly under him. "Hippo roll!" Yuya commanded as his monster jumped and flipped around in mid-air. Yuzu had to admit it was impressive that he managed to cling onto the hippo the entire time...but she was far too distracted by how absurd it looked. "How was that?" the boy turned to her, smiling brightly. The awkwardness of the situation was multiplied tenfold by the fact that the hippo seemed to be staring expectantly at her too.

"Uh...that monster. It's so...dorky," Yuzu said slowly. She knew it wasn't a very nice comment, but she couldn't focus on anything else. Yuya frowned, and the monster beneath him wilted in disappointment.

"Yeah, well, I've got other stuff for ya! Discover Hippo, let's try that new trick!" Yuya patted the monster on the head reassuringly before searching through his deck again. The hippo promptly ran towards the stone platform in the field. "Now, it's time for the main act! Check this out!" Yuya shouted as Discover Hippo leaped off the platform, achieving a surprisingly high altitude. With a cry of delight, the boy jumped off his monster while simultaneously swiping its card off his duel disk and stuffing it in his deck, causing the pink hippo to disappear.

"W-what are you doing?" Yuzu gasped. Yuya just let out a joyous laugh as he fell through the air, clutching a single card.

"I summon Odd-Eyes Dragon!" Yuya grinned as he placed the lone card on his duel disk. With a flash, a new monster on the ground below him, but this one appeared far more impressive than his previous companion. Standing before her was a large red dragon that almost reminded her of a Tyrannosaurus. Its torso was encased in some sort of strange pale armor with blue spheres embedded in it, and curved spikes of the same color extended from its back, where one might expect wings to be. A yellow crest adorned its head. Upon closer inspection, Yuzu realized its eyes were different colors. It was also, Yuzu noted, completely devoid of any sort of silly circus clothing.

Meanwhile, the laughing boy had managed to re-position himself so that his legs were pointing downward, poised to land on the back of his new creature. Yuzu let out a small gasp as she realized what his trick was all about. Riding a monster was nothing new, but jumping off one of your monsters and then landing on another? That was certainly something uncommon.

"Ladies and Gentl-AHHH" Yuya's triumphant line quickly turned into a cry of alarm as his foot slipped off the dragon's back. After a second of flailing his arms wildly in an attempt to gain some sort of balance, the boy promptly tumbled off his monster and landed face-first into the ground. The dragon let out a yelp of surprise and bent down and began sniffing at its owner, who was groaning and stumbling to get back on his feet.

Yuzu couldn't help herself. It was hilarious. She burst into hysterical giggling.

"O-Oh my god! And here I actually thought you were going to do something cool!" Her laughter was only reinforced when Yuya bumped his head on the back of Odd-Eyes' snout in his attempt to get back up. The dragon let out a growl of annoyance and grabbed the boy's shirt in between its teeth, pulling him back on his feet.

"Thanks Odd-Eyes," Yuya said to the dragon, a look of utter humiliation on his face as he rubbed his forehead. However, as soon as he turned to Yuzu, he seemed to perk up, and his embarrassment was suddenly covered up with a huge grin as he made a fist pump.

"Ha, I did it! Mission accomplished!" The boy jumped up excitedly and patted Odd-Eyes Dragon on the back, who looked just as confused by the sudden change in demeanor as Yuzu was.

"You did what? Fail spectacularly?"

"No, I made you smile!" Yuya chuckled as he pointed to Yuzu. "That's what the entire point was, remember?" Yuzu struggled to form a coherent response as her companion did some sort of strange little dance of happiness.

"But your maneuver _failed_. You looked like an _idiot_!" Yuya casually flung his hand in her direction.

"Pfft, I'll pull it off someday. The point is, I made my audience happy. That's what my Action Duel is all about!" He turned back towards the bright red dragon beside him. "Thanks for you help, buddy!" Yuya's monster let out a strange noise that was halfway between a growl and a chuckle before softly bumping its owner on the head. Yuya patted the dragon's nose and promptly plucked the card off his duel disk, causing the monster to vanish.

"What do you mean, that's what it's about? Screwing up in the middle of a match certainly isn't going to help you." Yuzu huffed with irritation. How could he be so...stupidly optimistic?

"I don't care about that," Yuya retorted, now sounding slightly annoyed as well. "Stop focusing on all the bad parts. You laughed, didn't you?"

"I laughed because you made a fool out of yourself," Yuzu rolled her eyes. How could a duelist be so absurdly happy after making such a mess? "You didn't accomplish anything, you just failed." She was about to open her mouth again, but stopped when saw how Yuya looked at her. For the first time today, he seemed genuinely upset. Angry, even.

"Tch, you can suck the fun out of everything," he sighed, kicking at some of the virtual dirt under them. "When I duel, I just want people to smile. Then I know I'm winning."

"That makes no sense," Yuzu muttered. Why was he looking at it from every perspective but his own? Not to mention there was a disturbing lack of logic. "People smile for many reasons, and they don't always mean something good for _you_. They could be smiling because they want to see you fall on your butt."

"Yeah, but..." Yuya paused, though Yuzu wasn't sure if it was because he didn't have a response or if he just didn't know how to say it. "You...can't think that way. You need to focus on the good side."

"That's stupid," Yuzu protested. "You can't put a positive spin on everything. And you certainly can't go through life thinking everything will make you happy."

"I don't _think_ it makes me happy, I just _be_ happy," her fellow student snapped, taking Yuzu slightly aback. "So what if they're laughing at me? I can't let myself get bogged down by that crap. If I just curl up and cry when something's gone wrong, I'll never get anywhere."

"There's a difference between acting like a crybaby and recognizing when a situation is just bad," Yuzu said slowly. Yuya glared at her, but before he could respond she quickly piped up. "There's a point where optimism just equates to denial."

"Yeah, well, I was always taught that if I keep swinging forward, I'll always swing back," the boy said sharply. An expression of pain momentarily flashed across his face, and he quickly turned and looked across the virtual plain, the light in his eyes gone for the first time since Yuzu had met him. She suddenly felt awkward. She certainly hadn't meant to crush his spirit.

"Taught...by who?" she said hesitantly. Without turning towards her, Yuya opened his mouth.

"My dad..." Now he looked truly desolate, and Yuzu felt a mix of shock and guilt at seeing him this way. Clearly, this topic was something that he was sensitive about. "He told me that." The boy's hand drifted towards the pendant around his neck, unconsciously it seemed. Yuzu stood there in silence, unsure of what to do. While the topic seemed to bother Yuya, Yuzu knew that abruptly changing the subject would just be awkward. Instead, she reasoned, she should try to take it to its logical conclusion.

"He told you what? To act all..." Yuzu paused, knowing she should choose her wording carefully. "Uh, cheerful?"

"He told me that...I should always try to laugh everything off." The boy's gaze remained pointed on the expanse beside them. "If I laugh, I'll always find energy and happiness, no matter what, and I'll get more happiness in return. Like a pendulum." He let out a hollow, empty chuckle. "My dad loved to use pendulum metaphors."

"...Like a pendulum?" The confusing and completely random comparison puzzled Yuzu. In response, Yuya silently flicked the blue charm around his neck, causing it to swing in an arc.

"Yeah. Pendulums are supposed to help you find stuff...and they always swing back with the energy you put into them. It's the same for a duel."

"I...I'm not sure I understand," Yuzu frowned. A sad, regretful smile formed on Yuya's lips.

"In a duel, if you want to win, you need to find the path to victory. And the only way to get there is if you have the courage and happiness to persist. You get out of a duel what you put into it, so I put all my happiness into my dueling."

"But, you won't _always_ win even if you have those things." Yuzu said, struggling to comprehend the force that drove Yuya forward.

"Oh, sure, you might lose a game here and there. But...that's not what I want my Action Dueling to focus on," Yuya said quietly. "Of course, I still _want_ to win the match," he quickly added. "It would be disgraceful if I didn't put my full effort into the duel. But there's a goal that goes past just making your opponent's Life Points hit 0."

"Make them run out of cards in their deck?" Yuzu let out a hollow laugh at her terrible joke, but Yuya barely seemed to register her response. After a few seconds of silence, she pressed forward. "What goal is that?" Yuya chuckled slightly, though his eyes still seemed sad.

"I want to make everyone _happy_. Obviously, winning the duel makes me feel a little better, but I want the audience to feel good having watched a great match, my opponent to feel happy for having fought a great fight...I just want everyone involved to feel joy from the duel. Then I've had the full experience."

"But, isn't winning enough? Why do you have to make everyone else happy to get the full experience?" Yuzu was now even more confused, if anything. Action Duels were obviously a show the audience was supposed to enjoy, but the duelist's goal was simply to win. Maybe they could do some flashy maneuver to appease their fans, but their only real obligation was to achieve victory. The boy across from her remained silent for a seconds, as if contemplating an answer. Finally, he turned and looked into Yuzu's eyes, clutching the pendant around his neck.

"I was always told that..." it seemed like a struggle for him just to speak. "...told that a true Entertainment Duelist recognized the whole picture." He continued fumbling with the penndant around his neck.

"The whole picture?"

"It's just...when I make other people happy..." His voice became a whisper as he flicked the pendant again, causing it to swing around. "...I like to think that some of that happiness will swing back at me. And if everyone thinks that way, then we'll all make the world a better place. It'll be a pendulum of souls," Yuya said softly. The two stood there in complete silence, their eyes locked. After what felt like an eternity, Yuya shook his head, and an embarrassed smile plastered itself across his face as he let out an empty chuckle. "Pretty cheesy, huh?"

"No...no at all," Yuzu said quietly. "That...that makes a lot of sense, actually."

"You're just saying that," Yuya scoffed, putting his hands in his pockets.

"No, really, I mean it," Yuzu reached out and grabbed his hand, causing Yuya to stare at her in surprise as she tightened her grip. "That's...that's a great reason to duel. Much better than anything else I've heard." She smiled softly.

"Really...?" Yuya almost seemed to be blushing, but it was probably just Yuzu's imagination. He let out a laugh, a real laugh this time, and Yuzu could see that the same light was in his eyes as before.

"Yep," Yuzu laughed too. "Shame that isn't something they teach you in Duel School." Yuya stared at her with an unreadable expression for a few seconds, before his face broke into a wide grin.

"Well, then we can start fixing that tomorrow!" he chuckled. It took a few moments for Yuzu to process what he had just said.

"T-tomorrow?" she asked hesitantly.

"Of course! I'm gonna be You Show Duel School's newest student!" Yuya flashed his smile at her. "We're gonna show all the other Duel Schools out there what a real Action Duel is, right?" Yuzu stared at him, unsure of what to say. She had just interacted with this kid for the first time what, two hours ago? _And yet..._ she thought _...I do want to see him again tomorrow. _

"Uh, Yuzu? Is that alright with you?" Yuya said, tilting his head in a quizzical manner. Yuzu giggled and flashed a smile of her own.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" She found herself giggling even harder as Yuya made another over-enthusiastic fist pump.

"Alright, we can meet up after school! We can have a full duel tomorrow, too! I can't wait to see your deck!" He looked down at his watch, then yelped. "Oh god, I'm kind of horrendously late!" He ripped his arm out of her grasp. "Sorry, gotta go!" Yuzu sighed, and flicked a switch on her remote that caused the Field Spell around them to dematerialize. Her friend stashed his duel disk into his backpack and made a dash for the door. As he pulled it open, he sent one last smile in her direction before rushing out of the room.

"Heh, see you tomorrow!" Yuzu called as the door slammed behind him. _Dueling to make everyone happy... _she mused. Could they really make a better place just by dueling? That seemed so...stupidly optimistic. Her eyes began wandering around the empty room. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all..."

**Oh god. When I read this over everything is just so cheesy it hurts. Whatever. *hides under bed***


End file.
